Sara Kelly

Sara Kelly is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. Her research focuses on using computational tools to design and model new catalysts for electrochemical processes. She focuses specifically on applications such as fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen peroxide for remote water treatment. She is generally interested in using science to curb climate change and its effects on humans and the environment.

Sara first developed an interest in renewable energies when she was in high school in Madison, WI. This interest propelled her to pursue a bachelor's degree at Carnegie Mellon University, where she double-majored in chemical engineering and engineering and public policy. While there, she pursued research in energy efficient water treatment and desalination technologies, focusing on both technical and policy-based solutions to these issues.

In 2015, Sara received a Fulbright Fellowship which she used to travel to Germany to study the potential of using lignin, a major waste product in the biofuel industry, to produce valuable products like carbon fiber, with the ultimate goal being to make biofuels more economically viable.

Sara also spent time at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, researching flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage, a key technology for making renewable energies like wind and solar economically viable.